Ericsson and Singtel have announced they are deploying 5G New Radio (NR) Standalone and dual-mode 5G core network products and services.
The 5G network will operate on Singtel’s 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz spectrum bands, spanning outdoor and indoor 5G coverage.
Ericsson said that mmWave connectivity will also be deployed in hotspots across the city state.
Ericsson also noted that 5G-enabled application use cases could include cloud gaming, immersive virtual reality/augmented reality, robot-human collaboration in real-time, autonomous transport, remote healthcare, precision smart manufacturing and smart-nation connectivity.
“As the leading telco in Singapore, Singtel is committed to building a secure, resilient, world-class 5G network that will serve as the backbone of Singapore’s digital economy. We are pleased to be working with Ericsson, leveraging on its industry-leading 5G capabilities and to deliver innovative applications and transformative customer experiences for our consumers and enterprise customers,” said Mark Chong, group CTO at Singtel.
“Singtel is determined to play a leading role in keeping Singapore at the cutting edge of technology innovation and to ensure that the whole nation benefits from 5G,” said Martin Wiktorin, head of Ericsson Singapore, Brunei and Philippines. “To do so they need the best 5G technology on the market. At Ericsson, our global leadership is evidenced by our extensive deployment experience with 75 live 5G networks worldwide.”
Earlier this month, Singtel said it was using 28 GHz mmWave spectrum, in addition to the 3.5 GHz and 2.1 GHz bands, to boost its 5G deployment in Singapore.
Singtel has switched on mmWave in several locations across the island, including Orchard Road, the Padang area and Marina Bay Sands Expo. Singtel also reports it has achieved 5G speeds of 3.2Gbps at its pop-up store dubbed Unboxed.
Singtel’s 5G network will take advantage of mmWave through a combination of the latest cellular technologies including massive MIMO, carrier aggregation and beam-forming solutions. Singtel customers with 5G plans can expect to experience mobile speeds of up to 3 Gbps speeds when mmWave-enabled handsets arrive in Singapore next year, the carrier said.
The telco had initially launched its 5G non-standalone (NSA) network in September, using spectrum in the 3.5 GHz frequency as well as existing 2.1 GHz spectrum.
Singtel was officially awarded a 5G license issued by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in June 2020.
Singtel and a joint venture between StarHub Mobile and M1 had previously secured licenses to build two nationwide standalone (SA) 5G networks in Singapore.
The two companies will deploy SA 5G networks beginning in January 2021 and will be required to provide coverage for at least half of Singapore by the end of 2022, scaling up to nationwide coverage by the end of 2025.
